0915 1 of 2

DELAWARE RIVER BASIN RESOURCES SURVEY COMMITTEE

In 1956 the United States Army Corps of Engineers was tasked with performing a survey of the Delaware River Basin in order to ascertain present and future demands on the water supplied by the river. Each state affected by the resources of the river was asked to submit its own survey of present and projected needs. The areas involved in this effort were the entire states of Delaware and New Jersey; parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut; and the city of New York.1

Governor J. Caleb Boggs created a Delaware River Basin Resources Survey Committee in October, 1956 in order to comply with the request of the corps of Engineers. The committee was composed of the coordinators and representatives from various state and county agencies as well as those from other interested organizations. In all, twenty-eight specific interests were represented. The task of the group was to prepare an “Intrastate Water Resources Survey” which was then to serve as an appendix to the final Corps of Engineers Survey. The committee made the decision to prepare its report in laymen’s terms and to publish it for the benefit of all of the citizens of Delaware.2

The primary objective of the Delaware survey was to determine maximum water needs and determine how to secure the necessary water resources for the next 50 to 100 years. The final report, published in 1960, contains general information on the past, present, and future growth of the state as well as twenty-five sections which provide commentaries on a wide variety of topics including projected population growth, water pollution and quality, game and fish resources, and recreation needs.3

0915 2 of 2

DELAWARE RIVER BASIN RESOURCES SURVEY COMMITTEE

1 State of Delaware: Intrastate Water Resources Survey 1959, pp. 7-1 to 7-2.